Eliminating Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice System Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Ph.D. April 2nd, 2016 @NazgolG nghandnoosh@ sentencingproject.org

Mass Incarceration There are nearly seven times as many people behind bars today than in the 1970s.

The Good News: Changing Climate Punitive sentiment has been falling since the late 1990s. Punitive sentiment, 1951 to 2013

Changing Political Climate

Decarceration Goal: 50%

Adult Decarceration

Source: The Sentencing Project Source: The Sentencing Project

Juvenile Decarceration

Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

How do you think rates of racial disparity have changed during this period of declining youth commitments?

The Significance of Race

Reform strategies that fail to incorporate an explicit goal of reducing racial disparity may fail to achieve such goals. They even risk exacerbating racial disparity while other goals of the initiative may be achieved.

Causes: Crime & Crime Policies Homicide Victimization Rates by Race, 1980-2011

Marijuana use and marijuana possession arrests, 2010

Sources of Racial Disparity Within the Justice System 1.  Racial bias in use of discretion 2.  Disparate racial impact of “race-neutral” policies 3.  Policies and decisions that disadvantage low-income people 4.  Policies that exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities

Source 1: Racial Bias in Use of Discretion Rates of investigatory traffic stops among Kansas City drivers under age 25, 2003-2004

§  Implicit bias affects the work of police officers, prosecutors, judges, and other members of the courtroom work group

Solution 1: Efforts to Curb Racial Bias in Use of Discretion •  Baltimore, MD, and other jurisdictions’ police departments are undergoing implicit bias training •  Milwaukee, WI, prosecutors have eliminated racial disparities in drug paraphernalia charges through monitoring and accountability

Source 2: Policies with Disparate Racial Impact Drug-free school zones near Arsenal High School, Indianapolis

§  Sentencing laws: crack vs. cocaine sentencing disparity, drug-free school zone enhancements, three-strikes and other habitual offender laws, restricted access to diversion programs

Sources: Indiana Geological Survey igs.indiana.edu & Indiana Spatial Data Portal www.indiana.edu/ ~gisdata/ cited in Porter, N. (2015) “State Criminal Justice Advocacy in a Conservative Environment,” The Sentencing Project.

§  Police policies such as “stop and frisk” and “broken windows”

Solution 2: Modifying Policies with Disparate Racial Impact •  Indiana and Connecticut have amended their drug-free school zone sentencing laws •  New York City curbed its “stop and frisk” policy and may scale back “broken windows” policing

Source 3: Economic Disadvantages §  Pretrial release often requires money bond, which can be prohibitive to low-income individuals and increases the pressure to accept less favorable plea deals §  Most states inadequately fund their indigent defense programs

Solution 3: Easing Economic Burdens •  New Jersey reformed its bail system to emphasize risk assessment over monetary bail •  Berks County, PA, reduced the number of youth in secure detention – who were primarily youth of color – in part by increasing reliance on nonsecure shelters for youth who cannot safely return home

Source 4: Lifelong Punishment

•  A criminal record creates overwhelming odds against securing steady employment •  People with state or federal felony drug convictions are denied federal benefits including public housing, welfare benefits, and student loans •  Excessive spending on punishment often accompanies under-investment in drug treatment and crime prevention programs

Solution 4: Limit Collateral Consequences and Reinvest •  Twelve states and 60 cities now “Ban the Box,” removing the question about conviction history from initial job applications •  Thirteen states have fully opted out of the cash assistance ban and nine from the food stamp ban. Others have opted out in part •  California voters approved Proposition 47 in 2014, which reclassifies a number of low-level offenses from felonies to misdemeanors and commits annual prison savings to crime prevention efforts

Causes: Crime & Crime Policies Homicide Victimization Rates by Race, 1980-2011

Marijuana use and marijuana possession arrests, 2010

Racial Differences in Support for Punitive Policies

Racial Perceptions of Crime Racial perceptions of crime among whites – who comprise a majority of policymakers, criminal justice practitioners, the media, and the general public – have bolstered harsh and biased crime control policies.

Eliminating Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice System Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Ph.D. @NazgolG [email protected]

United States: Murder and Imprisonment Rates

Canada: Homicide and Incarceration Rates